Category: Colloquium Archive

SPEAKER: Vedant K. Mehta, Ph.D. R&D Engineer DATE/TIME: FRI, 10/14/2022 – 3:00PM TO 4:00PM LOCATION: 3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL Fall 2022 Colloquium Series Abstract:

Next-gen small nuclear reactors or microreactors are gaining significant attention due to their utilization extending to civilian, military, and space applications. A few of the unique features that distinguish these reactors from current fleet of commercial power plant reactors is their use of high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel, newer materials, and their compact size. These special purpose reactors are aiming to be flight-ready, transportable, and self-regulating to be used for both remote (solo) and hybrid sites in conjunction with renewables. For space applications, nuclear reactors are aiming to propel a spacecraft to distant objects in the solar system and beyond, in addition to producing power for Lunar or Martian crew habitats and machine operations. To achieve next-generation space architecture goals, several engineering hurdles must be resolved. In this talk, we will be discussing the research, design, and development of next-gen nuclear reactors with a focus on multi-scale multi-physics simulations.

 

About the Speaker:

Dr. Vedant Mehta is a computational multiphysicist in the Nuclear Engineering and Non-proliferation division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. His focus is on designing and understanding advanced moderated reactors for numerous applications. He is enhancing high-fidelity multi-scale multi-physics tools to accurately predict reactor performance during normal and off-normal conditions. He is the inventor and principal developer of MARM software suite. His tools are being utilized by several national programs including NASA, industry and DoD.

SPEAKER: Zach Hartwig The Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor and Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering DATE/TIME: FRI, 10/07/2022 – 3:00PM TO 4:00PM LOCATION: Webinar Fall 2022 Colloquium Series Abstract:

Recent advances in high field superconducting magnet technology have opened a pathway to achieving fusion energy on accelerated timescales that could enable fusion to play a role in combating global climate change. This talk will give an overview of the “high field path” to fusion energy and an in-depth look at a major achievement that forms a key technological cornerstone of this approach: the test of a first-of-kind, representative scale, 20 tesla superconducting magnet completed in the fall of 2021 by MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center and Commonwealth Fusion Systems.

About the Speaker:

Zachary (Zach) Hartwig is the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor at MIT and an Associate Professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) with a co-appointment at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC). He has worked primarily in the areas of large-scale applied superconductivity, magnetic fusion device design, and plasma-material interactions. He is a co-founder of Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a private company commercializing fusion energy. He received his PhD from MIT NSE in 2013 and received his B.A. in Physics from Boston University in 2005.

SPEAKER: Shirmir D. Branch
Chemist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory DATE/TIME: FRI, 09/30/2022 – 3:00PM TO 4:00PM LOCATION: 3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL Fall 2022 Colloquium Series Abstract: The application of online monitoring to harsh environments, such as nuclear waste streams or molten
salt reactors, presents the potential to enhance fundamental processes while significantly reducing
operation cost, risk, and time. Optical spectroscopy as an online monitoring tool serves as a rapid, non-
destructive method to accurately analyze, predict, and control chemical processes in a variety of
matrices. When applied to molten salt reactors, online monitoring can provide key fundamental
information that includes not only total concentration of target analytes, but also factors such as
oxidation state and speciation, which gives valuable and continuous insight into process conditions. This
capability serves as a powerful tool throughout the nuclear fuel cycle, which aids in meeting the needs
of next generation renewable energy. About the Speaker: Shirmir D. Branch is a Staff Chemist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Her current
work as PNNL is in research and development in Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry. Her research
interests include electrophoretic separations; the development of robust electrode sensor materials;
electroanalytical and spectroelectrochemical characterization in various harsh environments, including
molten salts. She completed her PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati in 2018.
She traveled to PNNL in 2015 to complete research for her degree in the development of harsh
environment spectroelectrochemical sensors and became a staff scientist in 2018. Shirmir is also
volunteers with the American Chemical Society, as an executive committee member with the Richland
Local Section and with American Nuclear Society, as an executive committee member in the Nuclear
Fuel Cycle & Waste Management Division.

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SPEAKER: Manyalibo J. Matthews, Ph.D.
Division Leader, Materials Science Division
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory DATE/TIME: FRI, 09/23/2022 – 3:00PM TO 4:00PM LOCATION: 3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL Fall 2022 Colloquium Series Abstract:

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defines severe accidents as “Accident conditions more severe than a design basis accident and involving significant core degradation”.  Fukushima-Daiichi, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island are well known examples, but there have actually been at least 19 such accidents. The speaker has researched and summarized these events for the IAEA and in a report for the Electric Power Research Institute. This talk will give a short overview of these severe accidents and lessons learned..

About the Speaker:

Manyalibo Matthews is the Division Leader for the Materials Science Division within the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate. His expertise includes laser materials processing, laser-matter interaction science, process optimization of advanced manufacturing, and high-speed in situ characterization methods.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Matthews served as Group Leader in the Materials Science Division and Program Group Leader for the Laser Material Interaction Group in the National Ignition Facility and Photon Science organization.

Before joining the Laboratory, Dr. Matthews was a member of the Technical Staff at Bell Laboratories, focusing on optical microspectroscopy and managing projects aimed at developing Passive Optical Network prototypes.

Dr. Matthews is currently a co-organizer for the Materials Research Society and Materials Science and Technology symposiums, a member of the Academic Advisory Board at Norfolk State University, and a Fellow of the Optical Society of America.

SPEAKER: Dr. Michael Evans Associate Professor in Residence, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, UCSF DATE/TIME: FRI, 09/09/2022 – 3:00PM TO 4:00PM LOCATION: Webinar Fall 2022 Colloquium Series

 

About the Speaker:

Michael Evans, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Residence in the UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging. He is a chemical biologist with an interest in biomarker discovery with proteomics, nuclear medicine, theranostics, and molecular imaging. Dr. Evans earned a BA in Chemistry from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and he obtained his PhD in Organic Chemistry from The Scripps Research Institute (CA) under the supervision of Professor Benjamin Cravatt. This was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in Molecular Imaging from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York under the supervision of Professors Charles Sawyers and Jason Lewis. In 2013, Dr. Evans accepted a faculty position at UCSF. Dr. Evans has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles, 40 meeting abstracts, and is a co-inventor on 8 patents pending or issued. Dr. Evans also is the principal investigator or co-PI on several human trials focused on new strategies for imaging tumors. He is a scientific co-founder and previously served on the scientific advisory board of ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and is a scientific co-founder of Suba Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Evans has been recognized with numerous honors, including a Young Investigator Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation, a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Cancer Institute, a Research Scholar Award from the American Cancer Society, and he was a 2020 inductee to the Council of Distinguished Investigators by the Academy of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Research.

SPEAKER: Jake Hecla PhD candidate in the Department of
Nuclear Engineering at the University of California DATE/TIME: FRI, 08/26/2022 – 3:00PM TO 4:00PM LOCATION: 3105 ETCHEVERRY HALL Fall 2022 Colloquium Series Abstract:

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is the first war in which nuclear powerplants and waste management areas have been a major focus of military conflict. In this presentation, we will go over the nuclear infrastructure existing in Ukraine, and describe risks posed by the invasion as well as the damages already incurred. Special attention will be paid to current events at Zaporizhzhia NPP. We will conclude by discussing efforts by UC Berkeley students to provide equipment to colleagues at Ukrainian nuclear facilities.

About the Speaker:

Jake Hecla is a PhD candidate in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley where he holds a Nuclear Science and Security Consortium fellowship. His work focuses on the development of detection technologies for nuclear nonproliferation. Currently, his research focuses on neutrino detection for nonproliferation, and applications of coded-aperture imaging for radiation mapping. He earned an undergraduate degree in nuclear science and engineering from MIT in 2017, where he focused on technologies for arms control and verification. Hecla additionally works as a scientific advisor to Clean Futures Fund, a nonprofit pursuing projects in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.